36,566 new homes registered in Q1, reports NHBC

A total of 36,566 new homes were registered in the first three months of the year in the UK, according to the National House-Building Council’s (NHBC) latest new home registration statistics.

28,398 new homes were registered in the private sector, a 7% decrease on the 30,560 a year ago, with the public and affordable sector down 15% with 8,168 new homes registered compared to 9,584 in Q1 2015.

The overall number is 9% down on the same period last year when 40,144 new homes were registered. However, for the financial year 2015/16, registrations remained in line with the previous year with 152,329 new home registrations, marginally ahead of the 152,262 registered in 2014/15.

There was also a 10% increase in the number of new home completions for the financial year up to the end of March, compared to 2014/15, with 137,396 completions in total. This increase mirrors the strong growth seen in registrations in recent years, resulting in these new homes being completed over the first few months of 2016.

Commenting on the Q1 figures, NHBC chief executive Mike Quinton, said: “Our latest statistics show that the industry is consolidating on the strong growth in registrations seen in recent years. Registrations are now around 80% higher than the depths of the financial crisis in 2008/09, driven by increased activity from private sector housebuilders.

“Because of the increase in registrations we are now also seeing the resulting completions come through, as reflected in the 10% rise in the number of new homes completed in the financial year.

“As ever, NHBC’s mission is to ensure construction quality of the very highest standard in new homes across the UK and that this emphasis on quality remains unwavering – particularly during periods of increased activity and production that we have recently seen.”

This month, research in The Independent revealed that solar panels can increase a property’s value by almost a fifth. Rexel is reminding the industry that the financial case for solar still holds a huge appeal regardless of cuts to the Feed-in Tariff.